And we pick up reading in verse
14, Ruth chapter 1, verse 14. And they lifted up their voice
and wept again, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clave
unto her. And she said, Behold, thy sister-in-law
is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods, return thou
after thy sister-in-law. And Ruth said, entreat me not
to leave thee, or to return from following after thee. For whether
thou goest, I will go, and where thou lodgest, I will lodge. Thy
people shall be my people, and thy God my God. Where thou diest,
will I die. and there will I be buried. The
Lord do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee
and me." When she saw that she was steadfastly minded to go
with her, then she left speaking unto her. That's reading verses
14 down through verse 18 in Ruth chapter 1. We spoke last Lord's
Day on the first part of this chapter, and our subject was
misunderstanding, misery, and a miracle. When a man named Elimelech,
a man of Bethlehem Judah, took his wife and two sons and left
their home to go and sojourn down in the country of Moab,
he was very misunderstood. He's been criticized greatly
through the generations, no doubt by his own neighbors and friends
then, and of course been criticized ever since, mostly by preachers. But hey, we know that God, who
decreed the end from the beginning, had ordained that a young Moabite
woman named Ruth, be in the lineage of the Lord Jesus Christ. She
must be brought out of Moab and into Judah, to Bethlehem. God used this family to draw
her heart unto himself. They were really missionaries.
They sure were. And God never decided that after
this family was down there. He was in it from the beginning.
You see, God does not step into our trouble midway. Nor does
He step into our success midway. The story I've always heard is
that Elimelech was backslid. He was out of the will of God.
And he took his family and went down to Moab. No, everybody else
was backslid. In the days of the judges, it
was an awful time. He was the only one doing what
he felt in his heart he was supposed to do. And from that day to this,
Elimelech was misunderstood and criticized. There's not one verse
of scripture criticizing this man for being wrong in what he
thought best for his family at the time in providing for them.
Misunderstanding. Then we talked about misery.
Naomi walked to the graveside three times. First her husband,
then both her sons died in Moab. All three died, leaving three
widows. Naomi, and her two daughters-in-law,
Orpah and Ruth. Great, great misery. But it was
decreed, the men must die. You see, the foreordained father
to be in the lineage of the Lord Jesus is back at Bethlehem, named
Boaz. He don't die. But the three men
in this family, they die in Moab. We'll meet Boaz in chapter 2.
But these men must die, Elimelech and his two sons. All the men
in the family must die. In Adam, all die. They must die. And as we said last week, God
was not in Moab to get a father for his son. God is the father
of his son. He's in Moab to get a mother
for his son by the name of Ruth. And it involved much, much misery
for this family. And then third, we talked about
a miracle. In verse 6, Naomi had heard. The scripture don't
tell us how she heard, but she heard that the famine was over. back in Bethlehem, Judah. She
heard that the Lord had visited his people in giving them bread. And the word visited in the Bible
does not mean a social visit. It means ministered unto. The Lord met the need of. He
ministered unto his people. And the famine is over. And with
that news, God worked a miracle in this widow's heart to pack
up and go home. Oh, what a miracle this was. She had suffered so much. Misery. Defeat. No doubt Satan had beaten
her down over what a fool her husband had been. What a fool
she was. And no doubt maybe she had the
attitude, I'll just give up. I'll never move again. It's wonderful
that the Lord's blessing the land again, but it's too late
for me. Oh, we've heard that so much
from people. It's too late. No use in me trying anymore.
But no, God worked a miracle. And somehow it's in her heart
to pick up the pieces and go home. A miracle. Well, her two
daughters-in-law, Willa's also, Orpah and Ruth, said, we'll go
with you. We're going with you. So, where we started our reading
this morning in verse 14, Naomi has instructed Orpah and Ruth
that it would be wise if they stay in Moab. Naomi knows the
hardships that she will face being a Jew, being of Judah. She knows how hard it will be
for her let alone for Moabite girls in the society of Israel. So one of the two named Orpah
is persuaded and she goes back and she's never heard of again.
Naomi says in verse 15 that Orpah went back to her people and her
gods. I mean, that's assumed that's
what happened. We do not know for sure that's
what happened. She may have been one of God's
elect. Naomi may have had far more influence in her life than
Naomi thought. After all, Orpah is the one that
did what her mother-in-law said. She went back. God may have protected
her from that heathen society. We have no right to say what
she did. But Naomi said, oh, she's gone back to her people
and her gods. People are so quick to judge.
We're so quick to judge and condemn based on outward appearance and
hearsay. We're wrong to do that. She may
have went back to her people and back to her heathen gods,
but we don't know that. But the other daughter-in-law
that we want to talk about this morning, Ruth, is not persuaded
to return. God had worked a miracle in her
heart, not just to love Naomi, but to love Naomi's God. She is drawn to the living God
of Israel. And our message today is titled,
When God Calls. It's just a thought the Lord
gave me. When God Calls. It is a powerful, effectual,
sovereign call when God calls, as He calls you. It's not the
weak and feeble plea of a desperate Jesus that's going to be a failure
if you don't respond. No, it's not anything like that. If it's Him, you'll respond. When God calls, things change
in the heart and in the life for time and eternity. Now, it's
one thing, I'll just say this before we move on, not meaning
to be critical of anyone, but I want to say it's one thing
to get caught up in some fad of religious involvement, as
many do, something that will blow over in a few weeks or a
few months, But it's something else altogether when God calls. When God calls. Because when
God calls, He never stops calling. And you never stop coming. Peter
said in the Epistle of Peter, to whom coming? To whom coming? Not just to whom we have come,
but to whom coming? God, when God calls, He continually
calls, and His people continually come. Now, the latter part of
verse 15 says that Ruth clave unto Naomi. That word clave or
to cleave, it means to hold on to and not let go. In Acts chapter
11, Barnabas exhorted the believers at Antioch that with purpose
of heart, they would cleave unto the Lord. Oh, Barnabas, he was
preaching Christ. He was preaching the gospel.
He never exhorted them that they would cleave and hold on to some
denomination. No. Or some pet doctrine. No. But he exhorted them that
with purpose of heart, with a settled heart, with a determination of
heart, that they would cleave unto the Lord, to hold on to,
to follow after, to pursue the Lord in your hearts and don't
let go. Well that's what Ruth did toward
Naomi and really Naomi's God. She claimed unto her. Now again
in verse 15 Naomi urges Ruth to follow the example of Orpah
and go back and I mentioned this to say this Naomi is not trying
to talk Ruth into coming with her. She's trying to talk her
out of it. Our Lord never spent a lot of
time with His elect, trying to talk them into coming to Him.
He said a lot of little things like, what about your business? Go on. But guess what? If God's
calling in here, they're coming. They're coming. They're coming. When God calls, there's no talking
anybody out of it. That's been my experience. If
you're God's child, that's been your experience. Sometimes I
get down. Sometimes I feel so low, I'd
have to look up at a worm. But somehow, somehow, The Lord
gets me up. And I'm on the go again. I'm
on the go again. When God calls. Now in verses
16 and 17, Ruth speaks. And you're familiar with these
words, famous words, poetic words. A lot of times they're read at
a wedding ceremony. But it's really Ruth's faith
in Naomi's God, the living God. And so I would call Ruth's statements
here in verses 16 and 17 a most profound statement of faith. Statement of faith. I do not
say that Ruth made a decision. No, God had already done that
in her heart. When you get ready to make a
decision, it's done been made. When God calls, it's a done deal. The Lord had already done that
in her heart long before she opens her mouth. So I do not say she made a decision.
I do not say Ruth made a profession. I'm not crazy about that word.
Professions, as we know them in this day and hour, or a dime
a dozen. Many people profess many things
with no heart and it's false profession. But I call it Ruth's
statement of faith. Faith is the gift of God. This is not something Ruth mustered
up. No, this is something God put
in her heart. Statement of faith. And it's not Ruth's statement creating
faith. It's Ruth's faith creating a
statement. This is coming out of her. What
God has put in her. It is full of commitment. And the commitment we read of
here in these verses 16 and 17 are impossible in the energy of sinful flesh.
Impossible. It is impossible what's in these
verses by what men call free will. It's not happening. This is most assuredly God in
her heart doing the talking. It's a miracle, a miracle of
grace that one belonging to a people so morally degraded as the Moabites
were that she could embrace the living God as she did. It's nothing
short of a miracle. It's nothing short of a miracle
in your heart and mine. How do we explain it? Only like
this. Philippians 2.13, For it is God which worketh in you both
to will and to do of His good pleasure. Now Ruth's statement
here is sevenfold. Seven things I want us to look
at. Seven profound and meaningful
things. Blessed, blessed portion of Scripture. Number one in verse 16, and Ruth
said, Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following
after thee. She is a choice vessel, chosen
vessel, of God's mercy and grace from among a heathen people responding
to the call of God. This is what happens when God
calls. She is one of those, Romans 9.23,
which God hath aforeprepared unto glory, even us whom he hath
called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles. And
she makes this plea to Naomi, entreat me not to leave thee. Now what does that mean? Well,
not leaving Naomi would mean leaving everything else she had
ever known. So what is she committing to
here? What is she saying? She is saying this, going with
you. is worth more to me than anything
else in life. This is not free will talking,
by the way, friends. No way. It takes more than a
puppet show and a pizza and flashing lights to get this kind of commitment. This is God. This is God. What about you and I this morning?
Is going with God Not leaving God. Not leaving His truth. Is it more important than anything
else in life? Is following Christ, obeying
Christ, more important than anything else in life? It should be. It
should be. Can you see the humility here
in Ruth? She goes on to say, entreat me
not to leave thee, nor to return from following after thee. You
say, well isn't that saying the same thing? Not exactly. Look
at this latter part of the statement. Nor to return from following
after thee. In other words, if you won't
let me walk right beside you, I could understand that. I'm
a nobody. I'm nothing. But please don't
stop me from following after thee. I can't walk right beside you
as your equal, but please let me follow after. If I can just tag along behind,
I don't ever want to be out of your sight. That's what she's
saying. I'll do anything you say. I want
to go with you at any cost to me. No price is too great. And when we want the Lord that
much, He'll be around. He'll be around. Secondly, then
she says, whether thou goest, I will go. She's saying, I'm just a passenger. You'll drive. I understand we're not on an equal
level. I won't tell you how to go or
which way to go. I'm with you in your journey.
Not you with me in my journey. I'm with you. It's your journey.
You know, most people think of God as being with us in our journey. No. The blessedness comes in
getting with Him in His journey. That's where the blessing comes.
It's not about what we want, which way we want to go, how
we think it should be. It's about following God. And I would say with Ruth this
morning, I want to say this in my heart, Lord, please let me
go with You. The poet said, my heart is resigned
to trust and obey, to pursue His will in His way. to wait
on Him day by day, to follow the shepherd and never stray.
Oh God give us that heart. God has worked all this in Ruth's
heart. He works it in the hearts of
all of His people. And yet I need Him to work it
again and again and again and again every day to stay with
Him. This is not a natural thing for
us. It's supernatural. It's supernatural. God is bringing Ruth along. He's bringing me along. He's
bringing you along. Naomi is saying, go back. But
Ruth is saying, oh, I'm going on. God is bringing her on. The devil says to us all, go
back. You can't make it. You've made a mess thus far.
You just as well quit now. But there's that call in here
we can't get away from. There's one living in our hearts
that says, keep on, come on, come on, when God calls, when
God calls. Perseverance is working in Ruth's
heart from the beginning. She understands it'll not be
an easy road. Through many dangers, toils and
snares, she understands that. But Ruth is saying, I'll bear
that. I'll endure that. Same thing happened in Moses'
heart. Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of
God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. Esteeming
the reproach of Christ, greater riches than the treasures of
Egypt. Ruth said, Whither thou goest,
I will go. Our Lord said, My sheep hear
my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. Not might follow me, but they
follow me. Revelation 14, 4, These are they
which follow the Lamb, whithersoever he goeth. So many religious professions
in our day and hour are not genuine. And that's our question this
morning. Genuineness. We're talking about when God
calls. There's so much emphasis on this, the outward. and the
temporary. In Matthew chapter 8, there was
a certain scribe who came to Jesus and he said to him, Master,
I will follow thee wheresoever thou goest. Now, how can it be
any plainer than that? How can it sound any better than
that? He didn't say, Master, I will
follow thee if you do so. No. Master, I will follow thee
whether so ever thou goest. Boy, that sounded like such a
good profession. You know how Jesus responded?
He looked at the fowler and he said, Foxes have holes. The birds of the air have nests. But the Son of Man hath not where
to lay his head." And after that statement, that
fellow is never heard of again. He's never heard from anymore. But those truly converted, called
by God's Holy Spirit to trust Christ, cling to Christ, cleave
to Christ, or given a heart, a desire, a determination, whether
thou goest, I will go. Number four, she said, and where
thou lodgest, I will lodge. Never said anything about the
Marriott or the Hampton. Where thou lodgest, I will lodge. And the emphasis here is that
whatever the accommodations are, if it's sleeping on the ground,
Ruth is saying, all I want is to be in your presence, to be
with you. Now of all people for Ruth to
feel safe with, she feels safe with Naomi. She sought the fellowship
of Naomi. Nothing else mattered. What they
ate or if they ate never concerned her. I just want to go with you. Proverbs 15, 17 says this, and
I've wondered about this verse. Better is a dinner of herbs,
where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith. You say, well, now what does
that mean? Well, a dinner of herbs means leaves, salad, maybe
poke salad if you're from this part of the country. Who knows
what poke salad is? Some of you do. Some of you do.
It's a wild plant. My mother, we used to go out
in the spring, pick it when it's young and tender, put a little
grease in the pan, Scramble some eggs in with it. Poke salad and
eggs. Hard to beat. A dinner of herbs. Salad. Salad. And the stalled ox here
would be the big juicy ribeye. That's meat. See? But what the
scripture is saying is that the salad would be better. Nothing but a salad in a house
where love is. than the rabbi where hatred is. Peace and satisfaction, folks,
is not in possessions. It's not in pursuit of things. I know we have to survive. I
know it's a struggle all the time. Seems like there's not
enough hours in the day. But hey, Ruth was consumed with
wanting to be. She was obsessed with wanting
to be with Naomi. Where never mattered. Hardship
never mattered. Just to have the fellowship of
Naomi. To be in her presence. That's what she wanted. And this
morning for everyone whom God has affectionately called to
be his child, just to be with him. Nothing else matters. Nothing else matters. Paul said,
I have no certain dwelling place. And boy, he didn't. He said,
I don't live anywhere except in Christ. He said, I've learned
in whatsoever state I am. Whether it's sleeping out in
the woods under a tree, whether I happen to be in somebody's
prison, it don't matter. Full pockets, empty pockets,
don't matter. I've learned in whatsoever state
I am therewith to be content. So it wasn't provisions Ruth
was concerned with. It was being in the presence
of Naomi. I've got to skip some and move
along here. Number four, thy people shall be my people. And
the key thought here is separation from the old and embracing the
new. Paul exhorts us to come out from
among the world and be as separate, saith the Lord. A lot of people have this business
of separation mixed up. They think it means isolation.
In other words, if you can stay away from anything and anybody
bad, then that will make you holy. That's not the deal. That's
not the deal. Paul talked about, in Romans
1, about being separated unto God. It's not whose presence
you can avoid. It's whose presence you can be
in. You can be in the Lord's presence. That's the whole deal. Thy people shall be my people.
In Psalm 45, the bride of the king, the church, is exhorted,
Psalm 45, 10, 11, Hark an old daughter and consider, incline
thine ear, forget also thine own people and thy father's house. So shall the King greatly desire
thy beauty, for He is thy Lord, and worship thou Him. Get away from your people. Worship
Him. Worship Him. Get with Him. You know, when
you're young, and courting, and some of you are. Got a couple
of couples here this morning. How do you win that special one's
heart? You do it by giving them your
heart. Huh? That's how. All your affections,
every spare minute you possibly can, you're together. forget also thine own people.
And what is meant here, thine own fleshly people. The Lord's people, Numbers 23,
9, the people shall dwell alone and shall not be reckoned among
the nations. The Lord's people are despised
people in the world. And no one by nature wants anything
to do with God's people. It is only when God calls, affectionately
calls, that there is in any heart the will to be with Him and to
speak these words, Thy people shall be my people. In the next
chapter, chapter 2, Boaz commends Ruth and he says to her, Thou
hast left thy father and thy mother. Apparently they were
still alive. Thou hast left thy father and
thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a
people which thou knewest not heretofore." God did that for
her. He sure did. Number five, and
thy God, my God. She's leaving the false gods
of Moab. What a statement of faith. Thy
God, my God. Oh, this morning that we'd leave
the false gods of America. You say, oh, but this is a Christian
nation. No, this is an extremely idolatrous nation. We have so many idols we can't
count them. Even down to our homes and families
and individual hearts. You see, an idol does not have
to be a visible, tangible object. Idolatry is in the mind and in
the heart. Any idea of God, which His Word does not
teach concerning who God is, is idolatry. To attribute to God something
He is not is idolatry. To deny Him of something He says
He is, is idolatry. It's a false God. It's not really
Him. But the Lord's people, whom He
calls by His grace, when God calls, John 6.45, Christ said,
they shall all be taught. of God, taught of God. Might not can read your name
in boxcar letters, but if He lives in your heart, you're taught
of God, about Him. Jeremiah 31, 34, They shall all
know Me, not all Adam's race, but all whom God calls, effectually,
His people. They shall all know Me, from
the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord." When
God calls, everything changes. Number six, she said, where thou
diest, I will die. In other words, what is that
saying? Well, it's saying this is not
a 30-day commitment. A 90-day, a 6-month, a 1-year,
a 10-year, no! Where thou diest, will I die. This is a lifetime commitment. She's not following Naomi on
a trial basis. She's saying, I'm in this for
the long haul. It's not going to be any different.
I'm going with you. I'm going with you. From now
on, where thou diest, I will die. I'll be standing right there. because I'm not leaving you. You remember what Christ said?
No man having put his hand to the plow and looking back is
fit for the kingdom of God. It's a lifetime commitment. A lot of people, I actually think
most people, I hope no one here this morning,
but I do think most people profess Christianity with a whole lot
of limits set in their life. In other words, I'll go this
far, but I'm not going that far. I'm in for now. I don't know
about later. I may or may not be in this gospel
way next year. I'm just not sure about the future. Well, none of us are sure what
the future holds, that's true. But I promise you this, those
whom God has called fully intend one year from now 10 years from
now, 20 years from now, to be found with a clean heart, a holy
walk, and be found worshiping our God. That's the intention
in every heart, the desire in every heart of those whom God
calls. Because when God calls, He don't
stop calling. It continues long as there's
breath. in this body. Where thou diest,
there will I die." Oh, this morning, if we but knew
the comfort in this kind of commitment. Ruth was saying, Naomi, I have
no future plans of my own except to be with you. You are my life. What about saying this morning,
Lord, I have no future plans. Now I know we all do have some.
Maybe little, maybe many, maybe much. But what about saying,
Lord, I have no future plans that would take precedence over
being with You. Being where You want me. Doing
what You want me to do. Being with You comes first. Being with you lives in my heart
above all. Wesley said it like this, Thou,
O Christ, art all I want. More than all in Thee I find. You see this Naomi Ruth is following
is not the old dead defeated Naomi in Moab. But it's the resurrected
Naomi, as it were, marching to Zion. She's heading home. Ruth died with her. She's a widow
too, remember? And she's raised with her to
walk in newness of life. And you and I are not following
a Jesus today. that walks the shores of Galilee
in sandals yet to be crucified. No, He's already died and risen
again. We died with Him. We died in
Him and are raised by the Spirit to walk with Him and walk in
Him. Number seven, and there will
I be buried. That's about as far as you can
follow in this life. I'm going to walk with you, I'm
going to die with you, I'm going to be buried with you. There will I
be buried. Assuming Naomi would die first,
Ruth tells her, I'm going to give instruction to whoever I
can that when I die, take me to where you're buried and there
will I be buried. I find one blessed thought in
connection with this burying statement. Romans 6, verse 4,
Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death, that
like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the
Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. We're raised in him. We're seated
together in the heavenlies in him. Then Ruth adds a vow at
the end of her statement of faith. All these seven things she said.
Then she adds this vow in the presence of God. The Lord do
so to me and more also if all but death part thee and me. I'm going with you to the end.
That's what she's saying. In verse 18, Sister Naomi sees she might as
well say no more. She sees the issue is settled. When she saw that she was steadfastly
minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her. Quickly say a word or two about
this phrase in verse 18, and you need to look at this. Steadfastly
minded. Steadfastly minded. James 1.8,
a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. Christ said
no man can serve two masters. I ask you this morning, are you
steadfastly minded to follow Christ? I trust you are. I trust I am. Steadfast. 1 Corinthians 15, 58. Therefore,
my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, fixed, firm, always
abounding in the work of the Lord. For as much as you know
that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. Steadfast. Acts 2, 42. And they continued
steadfastly. in the apostles' doctrine and
fellowship, in breaking of bread, and in prayers. When God calls,
all His children come. All His children are taught of
God. All His children are indwelt by His Spirit. We all have storms
in this life, ups and downs, sorrows and joys. And the fact
is, a sin-cursed nature and a sin-cursed fleshly body is taking every
one of us to the graveyard. It's but a matter of time. But thank God, like those on
board the ship in Acts 27, we know not when This ship will
crash. We know not when or how, but
all God's children, like when that boat broke up. You ought
to read that Acts 27. I love it. The ship crashes, broken to pieces. Some could swim. Some could float. Some grabbed onto broken pieces
of the ship. The Bible said they all made
it safely to land. When God calls, when God calls
affectionately, it's a done deal for time and eternity. All His
children, all His sheep make it safe, safely home. Has God called you affectionately? That's the question. And here's
the answer. Is it in your heart to follow
Him? I mean really, like Ruth, with no reservations, follow
Him to the end. Don't give me any of this cheap
religion that says, try Jesus. No, there's no trial basis. When God calls, it's an eternal
work. It's forever. Steadfastly minded
to follow Christ. Oh, blessed, blessed experience
in this life when God calls. Who are you following this morning? I don't mean just in outward
appearance, but in your heart. Who are you following? I know
our time's gone. I'll conclude with this little
story I thought of. It's kind of a crude illustration about dogs,
but it'll make the point. But it's not too bad. We act
like dogs a lot sometimes, don't we? Somewhat less faithful than
a good dog is, most of us. They're not hypocritical. unless
they're taught to be. And then you can't really trust
them to hypocrite when you want them to. They're liable to just
be themselves at the most inappropriate time. But the story was years
ago two fellas were sitting on the porch looking out at the
road in the country and the road forked right in front of the
house. Here they are hot summer day
doing nothing Just looking, here come two fellas walking down
the road. And about 30 yards behind them
was a dog following. And when they got to the fork
in the road, one man went one fork, the other man went the
other. And one of the fellas on the
porch said, I wonder which one the dog will follow. The other fellow about half asleep,
he mumbled and said, the dog will follow the one he belongs
to. You get the message? The dog will
follow the one he belongs to. Goats follow the one they belong
to. Sheep follow the one they belong
to. My sheep hear my voice and I know them. I intimately know
them. I have begotten them. I know
them and they follow me. When God calls, He is heard. He is followed. Oh, to hear Him
call more clearly. and to follow him more closely
is the desire of every one of his children this morning. Grant
it, O Lord, is our prayer this morning, when God calls, that
we would hear clearly and follow closely. Thank you for your attention. Let's stand together.